


Champagne

by Steph_R94



Series: Try Me [8]
Category: Final Fantasy XIII-2
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-19
Updated: 2014-03-19
Packaged: 2018-01-16 07:17:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1336786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Steph_R94/pseuds/Steph_R94
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lightning realizes the dangers of champagne when it gets combined with Noel Kreiss’ company.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Champagne

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Square Enix owns Final Fantasy XIII trilogy and all characters, but Stella*. 
> 
> I think there is a Stella in one of the previous games, but I don't mean her. 
> 
> ((This story happens about an hour after The Next Contestant.))

Noel laid back on his bed. His hands cradled the back of his head; his legs were crossed at his ankles. His blue eyes were fixed on the ceiling as he went over everything that had occurred during the night. His jealousy, the way Lightning seemed to react to him, and the sudden realization of his crush were all at the forefront of his mind. It had started as his natural curiosity about the woman who had given him hope. Each meeting had made Lightning seen so mysterious. By the end of his journey, Lightning had fully enticed him. The urge to get to know her had drove him to speak to her. Serah’s distraction with Snow had lead him to spending more time with Lightning. The steady friendship he had established with her seemed to have melted into something potentially romantic without his notice; but she had noticed, he realized. That subtle shift in their relationship had been the reason she was avoiding him. The blushes he had seen stain her cheeks made more sense now. He furrowed his eyebrows. _‘But does it mean she has a crush on me as well…or…does being in my presence make her uncomfortable now?’_

“Did the ceiling somehow offend you?” He heard. Noel ignored his heart’s sudden jump in rate as he looked away from the ceiling toward Lightning. She was leaning against the doorframe. Her arms crossed over her chest. She had ditched the dress in favor of sweatpants and a baggy grey, scoop necked T-shirt. The wide neckline dipped off her leaning shoulder. The curls had been drown out of her hair. It now fell down in its natural style, but water still dripped off of the ends onto her T-shirt. _‘Gorgeous…_ ’ He thought as he propped up onto his elbows.

“Nah. I was just lost in thought,” Noel told her. He tilted his head to the side. “Have a nice night?” He hadn’t been able to grab her for another dance. After Gadot had released her, Snow had pulled her into a dance. Serah had pulled him to the dance floor. The dance with Serah had distracted him from Lightning; that distraction had been costly. Yuj had asked her for a dance the moment Snow had left her in favor of asking Lebreau for a dance. Serah had passed him to Stella-the once unknown woman who had smiled at him. The night only ended when Snow and Serah left for their honeymoon.

“It was nice. Snow is surprisingly graceful for being as large as he is,” Lightning told him as she pushed off the doorframe. She studied him as she walked forward. Like herself, Noel had taken off the formal wear. He wore a deep blue T-shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants. His feet were bare; and from what she could see, he had put on the leather wrap and ring again. Noel smiled and shook his head slightly in amusement. “Yuj was so nervous that he stared at our feet the entire time.” She sank down onto the end of his bed near his ankles. She crossed her legs and faced him.

“What was your favorite dance of the night?” Noel asked, truly curious. He had seen her dance with Maqui after Yuj. The younger man had pulled her into a rather silly dance. It was the first time the entire night that he didn’t feel disappointed. Lightning’s laughing, embarrassed face had been a highlight of the night. The joyful light in her blue-green eyes had captivated him. He would not be disappointed or surprised if she said Maqui. He watched as her cheeks turned red again. He couldn’t smother the small cocky smile that slipped onto his lips. He already loved that he had this effect on her. The blush died down as she thought through her night.

“I’m ashamed to say, Maqui was….”

“Well, I got amusement from watching,” Noel said as he laid back down onto the pillow. He folded his arms underneath his head again. Lightning glared playfully at him. He smiled in return. Lightning snorted.

“I got amusement out of watching you dodge Stella,” Lightning comment with a small smirk. After that one dance, Stella had taken it upon herself to hunt Noel down. Noel had been attempting to avoid her to keep from being sexual harassed again. She was lying about the amusement, of course; he didn’t need to know that though. She had wanted to stomp over, rip Stella’s hands off of him, and then preferably beat her with them. Noel shifted uncomfortably at the memory of that horrible dance.

“Fair enough,” Noel let her have that one. A small silence fell over them for a moment. Lightning shifted from her cross-legged position. She curled her legs to the left of her hips. Her feet brushed against Noel’s ankle. Noel stared at her in the silence. His mind returned to his previous line of thought. _‘She doesn’t seem uncomfortable around me. In fact, I’d say she is more relaxed than I have ever seen her…’_ Lightning could feel his eyes on her. She swallowed as the large amounts of champagne she had consumed during the night whispered dangerous thoughts in her ear: _“Just lean forward and kiss him. Judging from his behavior tonight, he wouldn’t protest much. If he did, you could just...persuade him.”_ She shook her head roughly to dispel the alcohol induced thoughts.

“Lightning?” Noel leaned back onto his elbows. Lightning looked back at him. The alcohol whispered louder: “ _JUST DO IT! You’ll never get another chance like this!”_ Noel tilted his head. He was getting truly worried about her now. Lightning bit into her lip. “Are you alright?” He asked. Lightning shook her head.

“I’m just going to…” She whispered. She moved to rise, but Noel panicked. Something about this reminded him too much of the days before she avoided him. He didn’t want that to happen again. Lightning tensed as his hand curled around her wrist. _“Do it,”_ the champagne whispered.

“Just tell me what’s wrong…” Noel suggested. Lightning swallowed as the request dug into her. She hadn’t thought of how badly her ignoring him would affect him. The more she thought about it, the more it looked cruel. He had been the last man on earth. With Snow and Serah so involved with one another, her silence must have driven him insane. “Did I make you uncomfortable?” Lightning chuckled at the question.

“You could never make me uncomfortable, Kreiss…” She said.

“Then why are you trying to leave?” Noel demanded. Lightning looked over her shoulder at him. His blue eyes were piercing as they stared into hers. _“Yes, why?”_ Champagne whispered again, _“he’s practically begging you to stay…”_ The poor combination of alcohol and Noel’s eyes drove her to do something very stupid.

Noel loosened his hold on her wrist as she turned toward him. Relief swamped him. She was going to talk to him instead of running this time. Lightning fell to the alcohol’s whispers. She darted forward quickly and pecked him gently on the lips. Noel’s eyes widened. Lightning darted away as she realized what she had just done. His lips fell open slightly. Lightning headed toward the door before he could compose himself. The wind from her departure snapped him out of his shock. He scrambled from the bed and darted out of the door after her. His last thought before he hit the hallway outside was _‘Well…I guess that answered my questions…’_  


End file.
